Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Family group:

The mounted group of three miniature dress medals attributed to Commander Squire Thornton Stratford Lecky, Royal Naval Reserve
Egypt and Sudan 1882-98, dated reverse, no clasp; Portugal, Kingdom, Military Order of Christ, gold and enamel, minor enamel damage; Khedive’s Star 1884, mounted as worn, in Spink, London brown leather case

The mounted pair of miniature dress medals attributed to Engineer Commander Charles Beresford Lecky, Royal Navy
Italy, Order of the Crown, 4th Class, silver-gilt, gold and enamel, rosette on ribbon; Messina Earthquake Medal 1908, silver, pair mounted as worn

The impressive group of ten miniature dress medals attributed to Captain Halton Stirling Lecky, Royal Navy- awarded the Albert Medal
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Civil Division, silver-gilt, with gold suspension bar and buckle; Albert Medal, for Saving Life at Sea, 2nd Class, bronze and enamel; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 1 clasp, Natal; 1914-15 Star; British War Medal 1914-20, 2 clasps, Narrow Seas 1914, Mediterranean 1918; Victory Medal 1914-19, M.I.D. oak leaf; Lloyd’s Medal for Saving Life at Sea, silver; Greece, Royal Order of the Redeemer, 4th Class, silver and enamel, rosette on ribbon, slight enamel damage; France, Third Republic, Legion of Honour, 5th Class, silver and enamel, these mounted court style as worn - last three on detachable bars; Royal Humane Society Medal, silver, successful, with silver buckle bar, the 10 miniatures contained in a Spink, London red leather case, lid inscribed in gilt, ‘H.S.L. from A.C.’, generally very fine (15)
£900-1200

Squire Thornton Stratford Lecky was born in Ireland c.1839, the son of Holland Lecky. A Master Mariner and Commander in the R.N.R., he married Mary Lloyd, a widow, at Everton, Lancashire on 26 February 1863, by whom he had a son Charles Beresford Lecky. He married Miss Elizabeth Susan Henderson at Walton-on-the-Hill, Lancaster on 6 February 1878. Halton Stirling Lecky was his only son by this marriage. Lecky was awarded the Portuguese Military Order of Christ, Knight’s breast badge, in 1876, as Commander of the British vessel Galicia. Squire Lecky, latterly living in Liverpool, died in Las Palmas, Canary Islands on 23 November 1902.

Charles Beresford Lecky, R.N. was born in Liverpool on 14 September 1863, the son of Squire Thornton Stratford Lecky and Mary Lloyd. As Engineer Commander, serving on H.M.S. Sutlej, he landed ashore and took part in the rescue operations following the Messina Earthquake. For his services he was awarded the Italian Order of the Crown, 3rd Class and the Messina Earthquake Commemorative Medal.

Halton Stirling Lecky was born in Portrush, Ireland on 15 December 1878, the only son of Commander Squire T. S. Lecky, R.N.R. and Elizabeth Susan Henderson. Educated at Eastman’s Royal Naval Academy, Stubbington. Joined H.M.S. Britannia in 1892. Appointed a Midshipman in 1895; commissioned a Sub-Lieutenant in 1898. Served during the Boer War as a Sub-Lieutenant on H.M.S. Doris and on H.M.S. Widgeon, taking part in the Delagoa Bay blockade. Whilst serving on the latter vessel his bravery in saving life at sea earned him the Albert Medal 2nd Class (London Gazette 28 June 1901), the Lloyd’s Medal for Saving Life at Sea and the Royal Humane Society Silver Medal.

Citation: ‘On the 25th August 1900, H.M.S. Widgeon anchored in Kosi Bay, 50 miles south of Delagoa Bay, in order to land stores and troops. The work of disembarkation was carried out, through heavy breakers, by surf-boats manned by Malays under the superintendence of Sub-Lt. Lecky, who had been sent on shore for the purpose.

One boat, loaded with stores and with Second Lt. Arnold Gray, Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry, Trooper Frederick Trethowen, Steinacker’s Horse, and Private J. H. Forbes, Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry, on board, capsized about 300 yards from the shore. The five Malays forming the boat’s crew, and Pte. Forbes, by dint of hard swimming, with the assistance of the boat’s oars, managed to reach the land after severe buffeting from the heavy seas. Lt. Gray was unable to swim, but with Trooper Trethowen, clung to the boat, which drifted slowly keel upwards in a northerly direction almost parallel with the shore, carried by the set of a strong current. Huge breakers continually swept over the boat, and the men had great difficulty in retaining their hold. Sharks were observed near the boat both before and after the accident. Lecky plunged into the surf, and endeavoured to swim to their assistance. He was twice thrown back on the beach by the heavy seas but succeeded in bringing first Gray and then the other, safe but unconscious, to the shore. Sub-Lt. Lecky and his servant, Pte. Botting, Royal Marine Light Infantry, then applied the usual methods for restoring animation, and both men eventually recovered.’

Promoted to Lieutenant in 1900, he commanded H.M.S. Peterel in 1902 and qualified as a Gunnery Lieutenant in 1903. In 1913 he was promoted to Commander and served as an Acting-Captain during 1916-20. He was responsible for the organisation of the Shetland Islands for war, 1913-14. Served on minesweeping operations on the East Coast during 1914. He was responsible for creating the Auxiliary Patrol Service of 3,000 vessels and necessary personnel for service against enemy submarines. Lecky then served as Naval Assistant to the Fourth Sea Lord, 1915-16, before commanding the light cruisers Southampton and Birmingham in the North Sea, 1916-17. Served as Assistant to the Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, 1917-18 and in the latter part of the war was on service in the Aegean and the blockade of the Dardanelles. For his wartime services he was mentioned in despatches, awarded the C.B. (1919), the Order of the Redeemer and the Legion of Honour. In 1919 he organised the Mine Clearance Service - earning the appreciation of the Board of Admiralty; and commanded the R.N. Detention Barracks at Chatham, 1920-24, before retiring in 1925. With some copied research.

Was a Vice-President of the National Rose Society and ex-Councillor of the Society for Nautical Research and Councillor of the Sailors’ Home, London East and Beresford Rest for Distressed Sailors. Was an author of several books, including a Memoir of his father in 1925. Captain Lecky latterly lived at 7 Tudor Road, Upper Norwood. He died on 2 June 1940.